


Lay All Your Love on Me

by mkilian



Category: Daniel Radcliffe - Fandom, Mamma Mia! (2008), Musicals - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 00:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3153452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mkilian/pseuds/mkilian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>On her first day as Sophie in a West End production of Mama Mia!, Fiona Lyon is kept in the dark about her other cast members by her director Manny Johnston.  Fiona, a mega potterhead, is thrilled to learn that her fiancé in the show, Sky, will be played by none other than Daniel Radcliffe.  Will their onstage romance expand, or stay onstage?</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Rehearsal-Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> On her first day as Sophie in a West End production of Mama Mia!, Fiona Lyon is kept in the dark about her other cast members by her director Manny Johnston. Fiona, a mega potterhead, is thrilled to learn that her fiancé in the show, Sky, will be played by none other than Daniel Radcliffe. Will their onstage romance expand, or stay onstage?

My walk to the theater was probably, the most nerve-wrecking thing I have ever done in my life. Mamma Mia, the musical that I had spent my whole life trying to get a part in, not even caring if I was just in the ensemble, I had gotten a part. Not just a part, but also a lead! I was Sophie Sheridan! I was the main character, in the musical that I had loved since childhood.   
I was almost running down the street to the stage door. I was not prepared for this honor. Being as nervous as I am, I kept running lines and songs through my mind at rapid speed. I needed to impress the director, producers, and the cast members because this was my first lead/non-understudy role on the West End! I was American, and no one in English theater took me seriously, until my audition for this show. I showed them that I was enough, that I was more than enough, than what they thought I was. My performance gave their prejudice against Americans, a run for their money. They called me back that night, to read for Tanya, and Sophie. The hierarchy of the theater does not normally call in for callbacks until at least a day after auditions. But, I was the exception; my callback was even better than my audition for both roles. When I was mailed a script, my name and ‘Sophie’ was written on the front cover. I’m not going to lie, I did actually scream and jump for joy when I opened it.   
What they didn’t tell me though was whom I was going to be cast with. I knew nothing about who Sky (Sophie’s Fiancé), or Donna (Sophie’s mother), were being played by. That’s what gave me extreme anxiety; not knowing if I was going to get on with the cast, basically gave me nightmares. Getting along and harmony throughout the entirety of a show is the backbone, and is what makes the show amazing.   
I slid in the front door, breathing heavily from running down the street. There was a tall security guard standing at the front with a list of the cast’s names and our roles.   
“Uh, I’m Fiona Lyon, I’m playing Sophie?” I told him, and he searched for my name on the list.  
When he found it, he put a check next to my name and told me to go into the theater. I wasn’t the last one there, but I also wasn’t one of the first. I went up to meet the Director, Manny Johnston. He was tall, with rugged blond hair, and a permanent serious grin across his face. The assistant director though, I could’ve sworn that he was always drunk: Gavin Berkechetti, the Assistant, sat back in one of the seats of the theater, sleeping. His longer, brown hair flopped over his face, and into his deep brown eyes. Manny greeted me halfway up the aisle, and shook my hand.   
“Hey! I’ll keep you in the dark until everyone else shows up. There are only a few more people still to come in.” His London accent echoed throughout the theater. I just smiled, and was told to take a seat. I found one a few rows from the front, behind a group of girls who were chatting away about their past shows, because they knew each other. I waited, and played on my phone for a while before I saw the heads of the girls in front of me, shoot up. I followed their eyes with my own, to the door leading into the house of a theater. I lost my breath, for a second. I turned my body forward, and pretended not to see who just walked into the theater. I was breathing heavily, since I was in shock. I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t happening, but it was. And it was too real to deny.

Manny stood up from his seat and positioned himself in front of the stage, to address the cast.  
“Welcome everyone to the new production of Mamma Mia! coming to the West End! My assistant, Gavin, and I have negotiated that we keep the cast in the dark of their roles; except for the main eight, Sophie, Donna, Tanya, Rosie, etc. they know who they are, and here is Gavin, to introduce them to you.” He then gave Gavin a little tap on the forehead to wake him from his mid-morning nap.  
Gavin grunted and stood up, Manny handed him a list, and told him to read from it. “Uh, Matilda Henry will be playing the role of Donna Sheridan, along with Molly Cooper as her understudy. “ Matilda stood up and gave a small smile to the rest of the cast. She was a little older, in her thirties, with short blonde hair, and grey-blue eye. She was also shorter than me by a good two inches. I didn’t think she reached five foot two.  
“Next, Tanya will be played by Raychel Anderson, and Rosie will be played by Victoria Russell.” Then they stood up, and waved, and smiled. Raychel was tall and thin, while Victoria was older, and short.  
“Making her West End debut will be Fiona Lyon, our new Sophie!” My face turned red as I stood from my lonesome seat, waved and smiled. The whole cast gave me a round of applause, and I tried not to be embarrassed. That was when we locked eyes. I sat down quietly, and Gavin continued.   
“Now for Sky, a veteran to the stage, and screen; we are so lucky to be joined by Daniel Radcliffe!” Daniel stood up and smiled as we all gave him a large round of applause. I couldn’t believe that he was the guy I wound up being able to kiss every night, even though we also almost break up every night. Daniel saw that I was unintentionally staring at him, and he shot me a small smile, and a wink. I could feel my face turn tomato red, and chills shoot up my spine; I turned away, and looked down at my hands sitting on my lap. Gavin finished calling the names, and Manny handed out sheets with all the rehearsal times, normal theater business, before getting us to start running scenes. I tried not to stare at Daniel, but I was in a state of shock (and I would be for at least two hours after practice ended).  
“Fiona, Daniel!” Manny called to us. “First, we’re going to have you run ‘Lay All Your Love on Me’, with Phillip Dickinson, our music director.” I knew Phillip from other shows in America, and I knew that he would push Daniel and I to our limits of comfortableness. Our rehearsal space, until we finished blocking and choreographing, was at a dance studio, a few blocks away from the theater; Manny told us to meet Phillip there in a half an hour, while the rest of the cast meets there after a two hour lunch break (he was being lenient since it was the first rehearsal).   
As I was getting my purse together Daniel came over to me, “Fiona, is it?” My back was still facing him, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.  
“Yeah,” I replied trying not to loose my cool.  
“Do you want to go get lunch with me before we go to the studio? I would like to get to know the girl I have to almost marry every night.” I faced him, and my face flushed.   
I didn’t know what to say so I blurted out, “No.” Then walked out the door quickly. What the hell were you thinking? I told myself as I walked straight out the door and down the street. Putting my ear buds in to block the sounds of the noisy London streets, I realized that I was walking the wrong way, and abruptly turned to go the opposite way.  
“OH!” I heard a voice yell, but we were already on the ground.  
“I’m so sorry—“


	2. Blocking-Day 1

“I’m so sorry—“ I said after I stood up. Then I looked up to see Daniel’s deep blue eyes staring into mine.  
“No, don’t be. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I was trying to catch up to you, but I guess you didn’t hear me calling your name…” He looked at the concrete sidewalk, and then shot puppy dog eyes at me. I took out the ear bud that was still playing a song from The Book of Mormon (original Broadway cast), and put them away.  
I looked at my purse, shoving my phone into a side pocket. “I’m sorry for earlier. I was nervous and—I don’t know why I responded so rudely. Sorry.” I ducked around him, and followed the sidewalk down the street.  
“Wait!” he shouted loudly, but I kept walking. Eventually, he caught up with me and silently walked by my side. “Did I do something?”  
“No, I—it’s just me. Sorry. I—I’m just a little scared. It’s my debut. I don’t want to mess anything up right now. I want a good experience, and I’m just scared that it won’t be as good as I made it out to be in my head.” I started spitting out random things. I was honestly just trying to get him off my back. He was as sweet as I had imagined, but that scared me. I didn’t want to be deceived by his sweet shell, that the shell was just covering a disgusting nut on the inside. I might have made this a little more dramatic then it needed to be, but I love myself a good analogy.  
“You mind if I walk with you to meet Phillip?”  
“You already are, aren’t you?”  
We walked in silence to the dance studio. To be frank, it was HUGE! Well, we needed it to be huge to rehearse with props, and scenery before moving into the theater. Phillip was in the corner with his piano, playing the songs and writing down notes on how he wanted things to be played, or sung (like he did with every show). “Fiona Lyon, wow. How long has it been?” He stood up and gave me a hug as Daniel and I approached his piano; his New York accent made me homesick.  
I sighed in his arms, “It’s only been like two years.”  
“And two years too long, has it been. Ah, you must be Daniel. It’s so nice to meet you. I saw you in How to Succeed, in New York, forever ago! Your performance was Brilliant!” Phillip absolutely adored Daniel, even his boyfriend had to accept the hole in their relationship that was Daniel Radcliffe.  
Dan’s face flushed, “It’s nice to meet you too! And thank you.” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Daniel looking at me sideways, trying to mouth something to me, but Phillip was already playing vocal warm-ups.  
“I’ll start at a C3 for you, Dan, and you can drop out whenever. Fiona, join when I get to the middle C.” Phillip looked from us to the piano, and back to us. We went through warm-ups no problem. But when I finished, Daniel was staring at me. Not just watching me, but staring. His eyes glued to my mine, and his jaw dropped to the floor.  
“What?” I mouthed, and he looked at the sheet music sitting on to of the piano. I joined him, reading the music, and imagining each pitch in my head as I read through it. I already knew all the songs, since I’ve had the movie since I was little. My mom loved show tunes, this show was her favorite, and she and I would listen to the songs repeatedly for hours.  
“You two ready? Sing through it, then we’ll go back and tweak things.” Daniel and I nodded at Phillip, and he smiled back at us, flashing me a wink.  
“Don’t go wasting your emotion. Lay all your love on me.” I sang, a-capella. Phillip played an interlude before Daniel started.  
“I wasn’t jealous before we met. Now every man that I see is a potential threat. And I’m possessive it isn’t nice. You’ve heard me that smoking is my only vice. But now it isn’t true, now everything is new. And all I’ve learned has overturned, I beg of you.” Daniel sang to the paper, nervous that he’d mess up.  
Phillip stopped playing, “Okay, could you two at least look a little bit like you’re passionate about each other? I know it’s your first run-through, but it’ll be easier choreographing if you two… let go a little bit.” I looked at Daniel, then back at Phillip. I know what Phillip was aiming at. He wanted to push us until we were about to die of laughter in the uncomfortable air. “From the chorus!” He started playing again, Daniel and I looked into each other’s eyes, my singing the chorus. It was intimate, and sexual, and everything you don’t want to be singing to a guy that you had just met that day. I knew that what Phillip had said, was true, that it would be easier to get sexual choreography if we sang it with the same feeling that we would have on stage.  
“It was like shooting a sitting duck. A little small talk, a smile and baby, I was struck.” I put my hand on Daniel’s shoulder, and slid it down his arm, taking his hand and intertwining our fingers. But then, I backed off. I didn’t want him getting the wrong message. I did NOT want a relationship with him outside of the show, unless we became just friends (like Sierra Boggess, and Ramin Karimloo). “I still don’t know what you’ve done with me. A grown-up woman should never fall so easily…” I didn’t miss a beat, but was taken back by my own mind. “I feel a kind of fear…” I turned away to look out a window facing an alley, “ When I don’t have you near…” Daniel reached to take my hand again. “Unsatisfied, I skip my pride. I beg you dear.” I finished my lines, and Daniel pulled me around during the chorus, just him singing to me.  
“Don’t go sharing your devotion. Lay all your love on me.” He pulled me close to his chest, and I felt strangely safe there. As if he were a… really good friend of mine. I sang again, and then he did.  
This round through the pre-chorus/chorus, we sang together. “'Cause everything is new and everything is you. And all I've learned has overturned. What can I do?”  
Then just Daniel, “Don't go wasting your emotion; lay all your love on me. Don't go sharing your devotion; lay all your love on me,” he put his hand against my cheek, and I put my hand on top of his.  
I repeated the chorus by myself, taking his hand off my face, and holding it gently. There was something more than just us. There was a different air around us during this song, but I couldn’t admit it to anyone, let alone myself. I walked back to the piano, and Phillip just stared at us. ‘I wasn’t prepared to play this role, and I should have never taken this job. I should’ve just stayed as Epónine in Les Misérables. I should not have moved to London. What was I doing here?’ thoughts like those were racing through my mind, to the point where I felt dizzy. “How was that?” I asked, loosing my patience. I wanted the rest of the cast to get there, so that it wasn’t awkward anymore.  
“’Honey, Honey’?” Phillip felt how uncomfortable I was, and I sang through ‘Honey, Honey’. Daniel sat behind Phillip, watching me. I didn’t act through the song this time; I kept my eyes glued to the sheet music. Most of this song was in my break, so Phillip was trying to get me more comfortable with it up until the rest of the cast was supposed to show up. The last time, I put my all into it, and in the middle of my verse, everyone entered silently, listening to my performing to Phillip (and Daniel).  
“Honey, Honey, how you thrill me, uh huh Honey, Honey. Honey, Honey, nearly killed me, uh huh, Honey, Honey. I’ve heard about you before, I wanted to know some more. And now I’m about to see, what you mean to me.” I finished the song, and turned around to see the whole cast standing behind me and clapping. I bowed, jokingly and we all had a good laugh.  
“Okay, okay! Settle down kids!” Manny asked us to sit on the ground while he told us the agenda. “Everyone, this is Max Hugo, the choreographer.” We applauded for Max, and Manny kept talking, “Today, we’re going over one of the big dance numbers, ‘Voulez-Vous’. First Phillip, in the back, will teach everyone the song, then Max will take over!” Manny and Max pulled a table to the front of the studio, and everyone gathered around Phillip and his piano.  
“Everyone spread out, and let’s warm-up. Fi and Daniel, you guys are good. Go relax.” He winked at us, and I rolled my eyes at him.”  
“Fi?” Daniel asked.  
I sighed, “Phillip and I have worked on shows together, it’s like his nickname for me. Everyone calls me Fi, in productions. It’s just easier, I guess.”  
“Oh… so then can I call you that?” Daniel was like a little kid, cute and innocent, but I easily lost my patience with him.  
“Sure,” I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic, it just happens. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound so sarcastic—“  
“Don’t. It’s fine. I’m kind of throwing myself at you. I just think… you’re beautiful.”  
“Daniel, no. No, no, no. This can’t happen. You don’t know me.” I stood up, and joined the rest of the cast by the piano. I wanted to be friends, but clearly Daniel had other plans…


	3. Let's Get Together?

At eight o’clock, we ended rehearsal. Daniel didn’t talk to me the rest of the night, but he found a new girl to fancy. Her name was Anastasia King; she was playing Lisa as in one of Sophie’s best friends. Apparently I was staring because someone came to talk to me. “Hello, Fiona right?”   
I mumbled a reply, and she kept talking, “I’m Matilda. Your mother.” She laughed, and I took my eyes off of Daniel and Anastasia. “A few of the other girls are going out for dinner. Would you like to come? Don’t worry, we haven’t invited Anastasia.”   
“I’d love to.” I smiled, and Matilda took my arm and led me out to the parking lot where everyone else was discussing a good place to eat. It was basically all the older women, Matilda, Victoria, and Raychel, along with the older men, whom of which I did not know.  
“Everyone, we have a guest coming along with us this lovely summer evening! Fiona, this is Raychel, Victoria, your aunts. And here are, John Masters, Thomas Clark, and Ryan Smith, your fathers.” She was taking this whole ‘musical family’ a little too seriously.  
“Hi!” They all said in unison, with a one or two “hellos” thrown in there. They discussed where to meet until someone brought up the Telephone Booth Pub. Matilda told me I could ride with her after explaining that I didn’t have my car. Once en route to the pub she started asking me questions about my life. Apparently she had heard an absurd reason about why I left my last show, and wanted to know if it was true, but it wasn’t.  
“Why were you staring at Anastasia and Daniel earlier?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the road ahead.  
I fiddled with a button on my purse, “I wasn’t—“  
“Oh honey, yes you were.”  
“It’s a long story.”  
“Well, we’re stuck in traffic, so we have time.” I could she her mentally high-fiving her brain for that one. Matilda listened while I told her about my no-dating-coworkers policy that I have with myself. I’ve seen too many onstage romances go up in horrific conflagrations. “Wow, Fiona. But everyone thinks that Daniel and you would be the hottest couple of the year.” I sighed. I didn’t want to talk about Daniel anymore. I was perfectly fine before he came into my life. 

When Matilda and I arrived at the pub, we were the last ones to get there. We joined the group at a table near the back; I was in-between Raychel and Matilda, and across from Thomas. I remained quiet through most of the meal, not really finding anything that I had in common with anyone except Matilda. She was like an older sister to me, and she obviously felt like she had to take care of me.  
I was bored, so I started people watching around the restaurant. I saw someone who looked oddly familiar, but I couldn’t see their face clearly because I didn’t have my glasses on at the time. But it was a face that you cannot forget. Daniel was at the same pub, with Anastasia. My hands automatically went into fists, and I nudged Matilda. “Look. To my right, the table against the wall.” She followed my directions and gasped.   
“No.” I could see rage in her eyes, but there wasn’t a reason that I knew behind it. “Just ignore them, Fiona. It’s easier that way.” She returned to the conversation, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Daniel and Anastasia. I was jealous of nothing. They probably were just getting to know each other. After all, we were in the same production together. It wasn’t a big deal, to the normal world.   
“Matilda, I’m really exhausted. I’m just going to get a taxi and go home.”  
With sorrow in her eyes, Matilda turned to me. “Honey, are you sure?” I nodded and tried to leave some cash on the table for my meal, but Matilda refused to let me pay. “Use it for cab money, you can pay me back tomorrow.” We exchanged smiles, and I said goodbye to the table.

I was out the door, and walking down the sidewalk when I heard my name being called again. “Fi!” I turned around and it was Daniel.  
“Hey,” I was shivering in the cold, and really didn’t feel like talking to him right then.   
“I didn’t mean to startle you at rehearsal—“  
I cut him off, “It’s fine. I’m sorry, but can we talk tomorrow? It’s freezing, and I should be getting home soon… I feel like I owe you dinner now.” I shoved my hands into my pockets, and smirked at him.   
“Sorry, I have plans with Ana tomorrow.”  
“Ana?” Okay, I played it off as that I did not like Daniel, but secretly I did. I’ve had a crush on him since he was in Harry Potter. I was star-struck, but I didn’t want to come off as ‘omg you’re famous? Omg marry me!’. I really did want to be friends with him, but when he expressed his feelings, I got nervous and scared that it was an act.  
Daniel’s eyes went back to the restaurant, “Anastasia, the girl I was talking to while you were staring at us, back at the studio.”  
“I was not staring!”  
He smiled, and let out a little laugh, “Okay, okay, you win. I’ll tell Ana that I forgot about plans that we made this morning. Okay?” Then he went in for a hug. It was awkward at first, but slowly melted into something much more than just a friendly hug. We held each other there for a minute or two, until our breathing became in sync.  
He let go first, feeling as if he had left Anastasia too long. “I’ll see you at seven tomorrow right?” I nodded, and Daniel called a cab for me.  
One pulled up and Daniel opened the door for me. I ducked in, “Thank you. I’ll see you bright and early!” We shared a moment of mindlessly smiling at each other before we said goodbye, and I pulled the door closed. I gave the driver the address to my building, and we drove off.

As I got to my flat, I was a little off about the whole ‘kind of going on a date with Daniel Radcliffe tomorrow night,’ but I had a feeling that he and I were going to have a fun time. I waltzed to my bedroom, changed out of my leggings, and t-shirt, and into a big t-shirt that was the length of a cocktail dress on me. I crawled into bed, and almost instantly fell asleep.


	4. Choreography Please!

I jumped out of bed at the crack of dawn. I took a quick shower, knowing that I wouldn’t have time between rehearsal and my date with Daniel that night. I changed into a black and white striped cotton dress, and a pair of grey Vans, lined with florescent pink on the inside. I caught a cab on the street outside of my flat to the studio. I arrived with five minutes to spare, and Manny, and Gavin were the only one’s there before me.  
“No. I think we should do it like this. It will add to the effect of the smoke machine during Voulez-Vous. It will only enhance the fact that it’s a bachelorette party in the wee hours of the morning.” Gavin was going on about how Manny didn’t block certain scenes correctly in his notes.  
Manny yawned, “What? No, if we do it like this, it’ll give more emphasis on Sophie and Sky dancing together; then with Donna and Harry, Sam and, Bill; and again when Sophie collapses.”   
“Manny, what the hell? No! Do it my way.”  
They were getting into a heated argument, the air started filling with their sexual tension, so I waited outside until Anastasia showed up.  
“Oh,” she walked by me, and through the doors.   
“Excuse me?” I was confused.  
She turned her nose up at me, and snorted, “You’re such a bitch! First you tell Daniel that you don’t want to be with him, so he comes to me and we get on so well. I’m pretty sure he fancies me more, but whatever because you saw him with me, and your little filthy hands couldn’t stay off of him when he fancies anyone else but you. Stay away from Daniel, whore, or I’ll make your run on this show hell.” I was actually scared of her. Thankfully, Matilda was one of the next few to arrive. I was crying when she approached the door, and I pulled her down the street, out of sight from anyone entering the studio.  
“Fi, what’s wrong?” She hugged me, and held me until I found words.  
I choked, but I spit out, “Anastasia just threatened me. But I think I love Daniel.” I started breathing heavily, and Matilda just held me even closer.   
“Oh, honey. I know, she’s beautiful of face, but vile of heart.” When I finally started breathing regularly, we walked together into the studio, when Anastasia was all over Daniel, and he didn’t like any of it. Until he saw me, and found how to get away from her, he smiled for the first time that day. He approached Matilda and me, throwing his arms around my waist, and hugging me for an extensive amount of time.  
“You’ve been crying,” he whispered softly in my ear, then gave me a light kiss on the tip of my nose. “I know why, and I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.” He grabbed my hand, and led me to a spot on the floor where we could sit while Manny, and Gavin were giving us notes, along with Max, and Phillip. Matilda joined the group that we went out with the previous night, sitting next to Ryan Smith who was playing Sam Carmichael, the one she gets married to at the end of the play. There was a sparkle in her eye when she talked to him, or even looked in his direction. It was hard listening to the notes, because I kept thinking of what Anastasia said to me. I was actually scared, but I knew that I shouldn’t be. Eventually, Daniel put his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me close to his chest.

When notes were over, Manny handed us over to Max. “Fiona, Daniel, we’re blocking Voulez-Vous, Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!, then Lay All Your Love; just so you’re prepared to work straight through the day.” Daniel and I shared an eye roll, but replied in unison with a smile. Voulez-Vous was hard to block in the beginning, because the boys were supposed to be climbing over things, but we didn’t have anything for them to climb on (okay now, don’t get dirty-minded). But, into the choruses, it was much easier. Each girl was pared with a guy, Daniel with me, Matilda with Ryan, Raychel with John, and Victoria with Thomas; we danced with our partners, while singing. Personally, I hate dancing. I am NOT coordinated in any way, so dancing, especially while singing, freaks me out. Surprisingly, it went very well. I didn’t step on his feet, and we didn’t fall over either. We kind of glided together across the floor in the pattern that Max told us to go in. It was awkward at first, but we got into the groove of things, and made it work.  
“Okay, stop!” We stopped. Max was hoarse already. “This way; do this instead.” All of us fixed our motions, and started from the beginning of the song; Daniel and I occasionally glancing up at each other, to make sure that we were still in time with one another. 

For the next few hours we went over Voulez-Vous again, and again until Max gave us the okay to move onto the next song. After going through Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! Max let us off for lunch, then brought us back to finish the song. We kept on moving until halfway through Lay All Your Love on Me. “Break time! Be back here in five!” Max trotted over to where Manny and Gavin were taking notes on our performances. I walked to my purse, and took out my water bottle.  
“Daniel! Daniel!” Anastasia shouted as she saw him approach me. But he ignored her and continued to walk towards me.   
We exchanged smiles, and Daniel sat on the ground next to where I was standing. “She’s not there. Ana is not there.” He was muttering under his breath.  
“Daniel—“   
He cut me off, “She’s a bitch to be honest.” He laughed to himself, and reached for my hand. I gave it to him, and he pulled me down to sit with him. “Are you ready for two years of this?” Daniel chuckled whilst I rolled my eyes at him.  
“Don’t remind me,” we laughed together until Max called us back to rehearse. I moaned, as Daniel stood up then reached for my hands to pull me up. “Thanks,” I winked at him, and I swear Daniel blushed into a dark pink color.  
“LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME! I NEED ALL OF THE BOYS, AND THE YOUNG GIRLS ALONG WITH FIONA AND DANIEL!” Max shouted, and we gathered in the center of the room; Phillip let us sing through the song with everyone before handing us back over to Max for the rest of the day…


	5. L. O. V. E.

At six o’clock, Max finally let us go, but not before Manny and Gavin could give us more notes. “Fiona, you and Daniel need a team building exercise. I need you two to get closer, to be able to feel in love with each other,” Manny pointed at Daniel, while keeping eye contact with me. Daniel was standing on the other side of the room, talking to his ‘crew’. I looked over at him, and then he saw me out of the corner of his eye, and smiled his most charming smile.  
He waltzed over to me, and nearly sat on my lap, “Fi, I love you.” He kissed the tip of my nose, and my face turned tomato red.  
“I love you to…” I was kind of breathing heavily. I felt a huge knot settle on the bottom of my stomach, which made my tongue not work correctly. Matilda was talking to Raychel and another woman, but I could hear her chuckling in the back. Daniel sat so close to me that our thighs were touching, and then he pulled my head over so that it was resting on his shoulder.  
The door slammed behind us, but we didn’t move. Gavin, looked at then started yelling, “Why do we have to hire such infuriating progenies!” He stormed out leaving everyone speechless. Manny rushed out after him, while the whole cast sat in absolute silence on the floor of the studio.  
“Okay…” Phillip said as he looked over Manny’s notebook, that he left open on the table. “Uh…” he read off the notes for the day, afterwards told us that we could go.  
I took a deep breath before lifting my head off of Daniel’s shoulder. I got up, and Daniel reached his hand out to me, and smiled. “Really?” I rolled my eyes, and pulled him to his feet.  
“Ready to go?” He straightened out his t-shirt as we walked towards my bag. I picked it up off the floor and faced him.  
“Yeah, let’s go,” I said. Daniel then took my hand, and we walked out of the studio and to the street. “Where are we going tonight?” We were just walking aimlessly down the street, but I erroneously looked down an alley. I pulled Daniel back, but I stumbled so I wound up with my back against the edifice, with Daniel’s hands over my shoulders, pressing against the brick. We stayed there for a while, breathing forcefully and staring into each other’s eyes. “My eyes are forever blind and eternally tarnished.” I ducked under his arm, and looked down the alley again, not seeing anything. I kept walking down the street in the path that we were heading down before.  
“Fiona…?” Daniel was stuck in the same position.  
I turned on my heel, and walked toward Daniel. “Can we just leave?” I sighed when he didn’t budge. I pulled his arm so that he’d take a few steps toward me. “Manny and Gavin were intensely making out in the alley.” I whispered to him, and his eyes widened, before he let out a giggle. In a few seconds, we were laughing so hard that we were about to collapse, and we were the only things keeping us off the sidewalk.  
When he finally caught a breath, Daniel blurted out, “Oh God, I’m so sorry you had to see that.”  
“Me to, honey.” We laughed and talked as we walked down the block and onto a strip of shops, where we could find a cab. Daniel called one over and we hopped in the back and Daniel gave him the name of a restaurant that I did not know. He and I kept our conversation going through the car ride. “I’ve always wanted to do like a movie-musical, but I don’t think that I’d be able to. I’m not good enough to do one of those.” I indiscreetly put myself down, not even realizing what I had just said.  
Daniel put his arm around my shoulders, “Fiona, no. You are good enough. You excel the level of expertise needed to do something like that. You do eight shows a week, every week. You can do a few months of shooting, not even every day. You are amazing, who ever would ever tell you that you can’t are immensely stupid.” I rested my head on Daniel’s shoulder, and he put his arm around my hips, pulling me closer to his already close body. We talked the rest of the short ride, about nothing and everything. It was lovely, serene, and marvelous. I loved him…


End file.
